Dubai: Ras Al Khaimah International Airport is gearing up for its next stage of expansion as it bids to become the major hub for low cost carriers in the Middle East.
The UAE’s most northern emirate sees low cost as well as charter flights as a way to develop its own aviation sector in a region dominated by intercontinental hubs in Dubai, Doha and Abu Dhabi.
A tender will be awarded this year for the expansion of the airport that will help to increase its capacity to 3.5 million passengers a year up from 1.5 million currently, airport chief executive Mohammad Qazi told Gulf News on Monday.
A design consultancy has been drafted in to draw up the expansion plans that will include six new aircraft gates, increase the number of check-in counters by 70 per cent and expand the retail space by at least 40 per cent.
“There is a constant evolution up here,” Qazi said by phone following the launch of Air India Express services from the southern Indian city of Calicut on Monday.
Construction on the expansion will start in 2017, however, the airport has not determined a completion date or how much the project will cost, he said.
The tender award will come up to seven months after the May opening of an expanded arrivals hall.
Ras Al Khaimah International has witnessed a resurgence since Air Arabia launched its services in 2014 after the emirates’ national carrier RAK Airways folded up the same year.
Today, the airport is directly connected to 12 destinations, all but two operated by Air Arabia, and the launch of Qatar Airways flights last month means it is one stopover from more than 150 destinations.
Qazi said he has been surprised by the destinations passengers have been travelling to with Qatar Airways from Ras Al Khaimah. He said passengers are flying via Doha to China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom.
“The load factors, particularly on the out bound flights, have been very, very good,” Qazi said.
The airport is targeting up to 30 destinations by 2020, Qazi previously said, and is at present in talks with at least one airline to start scheduled services this year.
